enjoy the ride

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it's not about the destination. it never was. it's about the miles you add, feeling the sunshine on you face every now and then & the journey that is uniquely yours. don't try to speed it up. instead, savor every moment that is pure gift & grace...WELCOME TO WHEREVER YOU ARE.
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(C) Photograph, MJ Calitz, 2008. Photo edit, MJ, 2010

finding strength

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(C) Art, MJ Calitz, 2010

& sunshine in a salad

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(C) MJ Calitz, 2010

spring on the sidewalk

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Spring has arrived in Ohio. Yes, we'll still get a few cooler days, some rain, a snow dusting even, but for the most part it's sunny, there's evidence of new growth & green everywhere and people are washing cars and walking outside... It's awesome! Don't you just have so much more energy when the sun is shining? I went for a lovely walk around the neighborhood and big was my delight, when i came across this sidewalk painting, filled with sun & spring. It made me smile. & of course I had to go get my camera and take a few pictures to share with you.

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I love spring time. It's like my body and soul wakes up from a deep, long hibernation, ready for a new year with new challenges and opportunities. I love feeling the sun on my skin and the breeze in my hair, the taste of fresh fruits and salads, the sound of birdsong and frogs returning and when the flowers open, color and sweet smells everywhere.

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Of course on the other side of the globe it's autumn...So where ever you are and what ever season you're entering, enjoy the gentle breezes, the beautiful colors and the relief this season brings to you from being too cold or too warm to mellow and gorgeous.
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(C) Photographs, MJ Calitz, 2010

in my skin

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the luxury of skin, he said
and suddenly there’s a little song in my head
& a lot of possibilities in my soul
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he woke me up. (3 times he. 3 times woke me. 3 times up). whispering. screaming. being. and now i can’t sleep. and now i’m dreaming again. just don’t ask me about the future. because it’s not with you. because it’s not gonna happen that way. because i simply don’t know. i know. it’s not all sleeping in on weekends. and making banana pancakes. and yet. i taste cinnamon. no more broken doll. run. paint. be me. be where i am. on clouds or not. be in my skin
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the luxury of skin, he said. and now i’m awake. and now i can sleep again. because in my skin is where i am now. and it’s okay
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(C) Art & poem, MJ Calitz, 2010

new growth

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(C) Art (watercolor & color pencil on paper), MJ Calitz, 2010

the road you're on

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here's my message for today: sometimes you just gotta keep pedaling the road you're on, even if it gets rocky (then you pedal extra hard until the worst is over), because it's where you're supposed to be. and if you fall off, get up & move on. ask for help when you need it. feed your body & your soul. and don't think other people's roads are so much easier, we all have our own obstacles and easy stretches. my mom always say, "life is not for sissies."

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(C) Photograph, MJ Calitz, 2008

egg nesting

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(C) Art, MJ Calitz, 2010

coffee kiss

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it was a very innocent kiss
like happy birthday
or congratulations
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but
her lips were warm and soFt and tasted like coffee
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she kissed me with her warm coffee sipped lips melting over & in. in. in. the world stopped spinning. and for a definitive moment, eVerything made sense
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afterwards
nothing
felt
right
again
excePt
drinking coffee
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it’s funny then that I doN’t
drink a lot of coffee

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(C) Poem, MJ Calitz, 2010. Photo art, MJ Calitz, 2008

shift your gaze

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sometimes you just got to change your perspective. instead of sitting under water and feeling like you're drowning, get out and see the unexpected treasures hidden below
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Ps. it's slowly warming up here in Ohio. spRing iS neaR! have a sunny weekend. mj.xxx
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(C) Photograph taken in Florida, MJ Calitz, 2009

noT so pretty

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i eat. i run
i paint
i scream iNside
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sometimes i get fRustrated. i could eat my fingers. mustard is the flavor of my chicken dinner. mustard is the color of my walls. i cannot breathe. black holes suCk me in. i spiral out of control. i crash. i bleed all over this page

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someone once said that our feelings are the compasses of our souls

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shh! listen...
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dRaw a line in the sand
draw green circles of hoPe
& sign my naMe
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(C) Art & Poem, MJ Calitz, 2010

universal yearning

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yesterday i remembered that i wrote this (in 2008) and i keep coming back to it as if drawn by an invisible eye
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i want to press my face against your neck inhale your scent press my lips against your skin want to hug you long and deep feeling like i'm home & safe. i want to touch my lips to yours touch my tongue to yours & softly lightly graze until we feel the need to go deeper & go there. i want to play with you have a pillow fight build a castle from cola cans and straws. i wanna eat with you. cottage pie. ice cream on cones. cheese on thick slices of wholesome warm bread & drink tea at the kitchen table with you. with you. i want to write poetry with you read love poetry to you listen to you play guitar. i wanna go somewhere (anywhere) with you & take hundreds of pictures talk angle zoom, learn from you. i want to sit in a bubble bath with you build beards talk fears dreams heart things. i want to watch movies with you snuggle into your shoulder my hair tickling your nose. listen to you get passionate about music. philosophize about life love. i wanna hold victoria secret angel shows for you paint your toenails pink fall asleep holding your hand. i want to catch you staring at me. kiss your nose…
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today, unexpectedly, i saw your funny face again and i marveled at the inner workings of the universe

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ps. the picture might not make sense to you, but it reminded me of a time and a feeling...
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(C) Photograph & poem, MJ Calitz, 2008

purple soul

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purple girl. i am entangled in you. i am stitched into your tattoos. i am sucked into your maelstrom of melancholy & pleasure. each day is like riding on a strange carousel of horses & dreams. & sometimes i freeze, i whisper, i scream. & sometimes i dance on the graves of my unborn babies. i dare to say this because i have bled too many times. i will not fear my fears. i will not sneer at my weaknesses. i will not hide behind their stares any longer

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come dance with me
soul sisters & broken souls
sing, tease & cry
bring your graves & your carousels
bring your twirls & your decay
together we will mend our wounds
licked & kicked
our worlds
ripped & stitched
together we will survive
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some souls are purple flowers
& no matter how we fall
all we want to do is heal
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(C) Photograph, MJ Calitz, 2009. Poem & photo art, MJ Calitz, 2010